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Query: UMLS:C0029713 (immaturity)
 4,335 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The prevalence of problem and pathological gambling in adolescence and young adulthood has been found to be two- to fourfold higher than in adulthood. Given that these high rates might predict future increases across all age groups, it is important to explore the causes of the elevated rates of problem and pathological gambling among youths. This article reviews evidence for a neurobiological basis for adolescent vulnerability to problem and pathological gambling behaviors. We propose that a common trait motif of impulsivity might underlie phenomenology of pathological gambling, commonly comorbid psychiatric disorders, and related aspects of adolescent behavior. Recent advances in understanding the brain mechanisms involved in motivation, reward, and decision-making allow a discussion of neural circuitry underlying impulsivity. Emerging data indicate that important neurodevelopmental events during adolescence occur in brain regions associated with motivation and impulsive behavior. We hypothesize that immaturity of frontal cortical and subcortical monoaminergic systems during normal neurodevelopment underlies adolescent impulsivity as a transitional trait-behavior. While these neurodevelopmental processes may confer advantage by promoting a learning drive for optimal adaptation to adult roles, they may also confer an increased vulnerability to addictive behaviors such as problem and pathological gambling. An exploration of the developmental changes in neural circuitry involved in impulse control has significant implications for understanding adolescent behaviors and treating problem and pathological gambling among youths.
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PMID:Neurodevelopment, impulsivity, and adolescent gambling. 1263 40

An examination of 150 patients suffering from pathological gambling (PG) has shown that a PG predisposition includes 3 components: personal, morphofunctional and gender. The personal component is a combination of lability and hyperthymia, higher extraversion, easy communication, riskiness, low empathic ability, inclination to emotional satiation. The morphofunctional component embraces structural (a pathology of cortical and subcortical areas, localized mainly in the frontal region and limbic structure of brain) and functional (abnormalities of regulatory processes, signs of cerebral immaturity) peculiarities of the central nervous system. The gender component is reflected in the notable predominance of males, weak and medium-weak sexual constitution, psychosexual development peculiarities manifested as a reduced romantic stage. This complex predisposition, though non-fatal, raises the risk of the disorder.
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PMID:[Factors predisposing to pathological gambling]. 1900 47